Meta Platforms (META) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is anticipated to release its Q3 2026 results after the market closes on Wednesday, October 21st. Analysts expect Meta Platforms to announce earnings of $6.58 per share and revenue of $63.34 billion for the quarter. Parties can find conference call details on the company’s upcoming Q3 2026 earnings results page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 4:30 PM ET.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Meta Platforms to post $28.81 EPS for the current fiscal year and $34.77 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $709.33 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $655.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $626.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,331 shares of company stock valued at $101,233,569. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $715.00 to $884.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $808.88.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.